The many faces of Apricot Grove

North of Gusu.

It was June. The plum rains had passed, and the blazing sun burned like fire. The green apricots on the branches were gradually turning golden. Slender, pale fingers gently parted the green leaves, revealing through the gap a group of beggars approaching from the south.

"How annoying. You run into these beggars everywhere."

A young girl's voice rang out, lively with youth.

"Be careful."

Another sweet female voice sounded, gentle and pleasing, a little more composed.

"Ever since Chief Qiao took over, the Beggars' Sect's disciples have been active everywhere, and its prestige has only grown. Many martial experts have joined out of admiration. Even a local branch can't be underestimated."

"Hmph, Northern Qiao Feng? Who knows what ability he has to dare share equal renown with our young master!"

"Our young master is handsome and dashing, with martial prowess unrivaled beneath heaven, but that's no reason to underestimate the heroes of the world."

"Sister, don't tell me you admire that Chief Qiao?"

"You wretched girl, stop talking nonsense."

"Oh, so before, you called me your little sister, but the moment Chief Qiao comes up, I'm a wretched girl? For a strange man you've never even met, you'd cast aside your own little sister? I won't have it, I won't..."

Wind stirred through the grove, swaying the apricot trees.

After making a fuss for a while, the girl suddenly fell silent and looked toward the approaching beggars.

"Sister, who's that man in the middle? There's no one like him among the local beggar chiefs in Gusu... Even Lecherous Beggar Chen is walking behind him. Could he be... the head of all the beggars, that Chief Qiao of yours?"

"He doesn't look like him. They say Qiao Feng is an imposing northern man, his heroic spirit reaching the clouds, unmatched in loyalty and courage, willing to live and die alongside others. This man looks like a scholar. His gaze is crooked, and his thoughts are hard to fathom."

"So you're not just good at disguises, Sister. You can read faces too?"

"What do I know? I only learned a little from our young master's cousin. She's the truly impressive one."

The girl laughed. "Our young master's cousin is like an immortal, but you're not bad either, Sister. What else have you read?"

"I've also read... that this year, you're bound to meet a husband to your liking who'll take you in hand and tame you, so you can't keep doing whatever you please."

"Hmph, I'm going to serve the young master all my life anyway. I don't care about any husband."

"They're coming. Quiet!"

The man the two women were discussing was around forty, tall and lean, with a scholar's kerchief on his head and a pale, beardless face. His bearing was somewhat cold. Carrying a fine sword with a green tassel, he walked among the beggars.

"My adoptive father went back to his hometown in Wuxi. He didn't know you would be coming here on inspection, Brother Quan. The Gusu Branch certainly didn't mean to slight you."

"Heh, your adoptive father is getting on in years. He's a veteran of the sect with long-standing seniority. Even Chief Qiao treats him with respect, and he's also a close friend of Elder Chen Guyan. Even if he were in Gusu, a mere junior like me wouldn't dare ask him to greet me in person..."

"If you have any instructions, Brother Quan, I'll be sure to pass them on to my adoptive father." The beggar speaking was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, his face covered in pink bumps. Five bags hung at his waist, and he held a round-headed iron pestle.

"There's nothing else, really. It's just that before I left, Chief Qiao and Brother Ma both instructed me to avoid clashing with the Murong Clan as much as possible. The Beggars' Sect has expanded rapidly in recent years and already provoked discontent among many of our fellows in the martial world. There's no need to give them more ammunition."

After a while, the pockmarked man spoke again.

"Brother Quan, the Black Flood Dragon Gang on Lake Tai has been very eager to entertain us. Are we going or not?"

Quan Guanqing was already somewhat displeased that the Gusu Branch's branch master had not come to welcome him in person. Though Chen Youchun's reasonably respectful attitude kept him from taking offense, he had no wish to grant them this favor.

"Black flood dragons, fish dragons, whatever-they're nothing but small fry in a puddle. They never had the standing to ask this favor in the first place. Why provoke the Murong Family's suspicions over it? Unless you've already agreed?"

"Absolutely not. My adoptive father knows nothing about it. I... I didn't want to go in the first place..."

Thinking of that chest of gold, Chen Youchun felt a little regretful. But then he reconsidered: even if he didn't go, would Zhang Hengye dare come asking for it back? Either way, it was already his. His mind made up, he changed the subject.

"I've never even heard of such a thing. Something called a Flower-Honoring Banquet. Have any of you heard of it?"

"No..."

"No idea..."

The local Beggars' Sect disciples of Suzhou all shook their heads, saying they had never heard of it.

"Flowers are meant to be plucked. What's this honoring business? Utter nonsense. All that fancy literary talk doesn't sound like the martial world at all. As the saying goes, pluck the flower while you can; don't wait until there's no flower left... and stroke a bare stalk."

Imitating the Gusu accent, Chen Youchun made an extremely vulgar joke.

Quan Guanqing seemed not to understand. With a completely straight face, he said, "When I was deputy branch master in Yunnan, I learned of a local custom in Qianyang. They like holding banquets under all sorts of pretexts: a sow having piglets, cattle leaving their pens, a tree flowering, a child having their hair tied into little horns... There are too many occasions to write them all down. I imagine Jiangnan has them too. Nothing surprising about it."

"So that's it. You certainly deserve your elegant title of Scholar of the Ten Directions, Brother Quan. North or south, there's nothing you don't know. Your promotion to the Great Wisdom Branch this time truly lives up to the name. All the local brothers are wholeheartedly convinced."

With a guilty conscience, Chen Youchun seized the chance to blow a great blast on the conch of flattery.

Besides, Quan Guanqing was now his adoptive father's immediate superior, someone well worth relying on.

Apart from its headquarters, the Beggars' Sect established branches in famous cities throughout the land.

Small branches, such as the Gusu Branch, only oversaw a single locality like Suzhou, and their branch masters were usually six- or seven-bag disciples.

The major branches had five halls named Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, and Trust, overseeing a province or several provinces. They held prominent positions and real power within the sect, taking orders from the four guardian elders. Quan Guanqing handled affairs efficiently and had rendered meritorious service in establishing the Yunnan Branch. Deputy Chief Ma had personally selected him for this promotion, making his prospects all the more boundless.

Quan Guanqing lowered his gaze slightly, looking at the eight cloth bags at his waist, and smiled faintly. "We devote ourselves to serving the sect, putting brotherhood first and loyalty above all. Whether our personal position is high or low really doesn't matter. You lean on a stick begging in the streets, and I devise plans at headquarters. We're both working for the sect just the same."

"Oh my, oh my, oh my! Brother Quan, that breadth of vision, that generosity of spirit-I'll never catch up in this lifetime..."

"How disgusting!"

After the beggars passed, the girl's voice sounded softly.

"When the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam follows. I don't think Qiao Feng is necessarily a good man either."

She still could not let go of the fact that a rough fellow shared equal renown with her young master, who was as gentle and refined as jade.

The other, gentler voice said, "The Beggars' Sect is expanding so quickly. It's only natural for one or two bootlickers to slip in."

This time, the girl's tone was firm. "I don't think so."

Finding her unusually serious, the gentle voice asked with a laugh, "What wisdom do you have to offer, little sister?"

The girl cleared her throat twice and slowly laid out her reasoning.

"Think about it, Sister. What capable man in this world would willingly become a beggar? Just because they belong to the Beggars' Sect, even if they become branch masters, elders... or chief, they can't openly enjoy themselves."

"The disciples sit in the streets with sticks, begging for food, while their big brother enjoys fine clothes, sumptuous meals, wealth, and glory. What sort of behavior is that? Do those original promises still count for anything?"

"So... in public, they can only put on an act and hold themselves back."

"How can something that goes against human nature last?"

"Even if one or two fools can share the hardships and joys of the lowest-ranking members, what about their sons and grandsons? Over time, the rich will grow richer and the strong will remain strong, and the Beggars' Sect will exist in name only."

"Take Chen Youchun. His adoptive father still has some reputation for chivalry, but this adopted son of his doesn't just frequent brothels and pleasure houses-he secretly deceives respectable women too. If the young master weren't unwilling to offend the Beggars' Sect without cause, I would have exposed these scandals long ago."

The girl delivered her final conclusion.

"The more they claim to be the greatest sect beneath heaven, the more hypocrites they'll have. Outsiders won't be able to defeat them, but in the end, they'll bring about their own destruction..."

A giggle came from the treetops, like a little fox.

"I never imagined you had such insight into human nature, Abi. Ah... someone else is coming."

"It's a woman..."

Apricot Grove lay north of Gusu, covering dozens of li. Traffic from north and south converged here, and inns and shops stood in rows, making it convenient for martial artists to meet and make contact, and suitable for secret dealings. Renowned martial-world gangs and sects, not only from the Liangzhe Circuit but from throughout the land, mostly maintained contact points here.

Planting a banner in Apricot Grove meant having made a name throughout the martial world.

On the official road through the grove.

The woman in black gauze turned onto a path to the left and walked briskly. After two or three li, she saw plumes of white smoke rising ahead. Before she drew close, she heard the clanging of hammers striking anvils.

"If you want to look at weapons, first room on the east..."

There was a clearing in the grove, without a blade of grass. Seven or eight earthen houses stood in the middle, with two wells dug in the yard. Wicker baskets were filled with charcoal, ore, and crude iron. Thick-armed men stood in pairs before four furnaces, sweat pouring off them.

"If you want a weapon made, leave the design and a deposit."

"I want a Divine Crow Crossbow."

A fat old man lay in a bamboo chair, waving a palm-leaf fan. He rolled over and glanced at the woman in black gauze.

"How do you know about the Divine Crow Crossbow? Who sent you?"

Qin Xiu raised her right arm, revealing the set of sleeve darts strapped to her wrist.

The fat old man nodded slightly. "Did you bring enough silver?"

"Silver?" Qin Xiu was slightly taken aback.

Pointing his palm-leaf fan at the four furnaces and the twenty-odd apprentices, the old man said irritably, "All these mouths need feeding. We can't cut off our livelihood just to fulfill the wishes of you and your master..."

"How much silver?" Qin Xiu asked, though she sounded somewhat uncertain.

"For anyone else, I'd ask five hundred taels. But out of respect for your master..."

The fat old man held up one open hand and laughed heartily.

"Eight hundred taels!"